A BRISTOLIAN MAN has been found guilty of multiple accounts of assaulting an officer during last July’s anti-E.D.L. demo in Bristol, simply because the judge disagreed with his politics – allegedly; the demo itself saw hundreds of police protecting 300 racists from thousands of locals and anti-fascists, making multiple arrests. Despite the hearing taking place in a magistrates court, a district judge sat in. His first move was to declare testimony from two people invalid solely, due to their membership in the Anarchist Federation – an above-ground, legal, membership-based organisation. From there, the trial became even more farcical, with the judge ignoring gaping holes in the contradictory statements of two cops. At one point, the ‘assaulted’ officer admitted that he couldn’t be sure the accused was even responsible for the ‘assault’. The same officer then alleged that he ‘punched his hat off’, despite pictures featured in Vice magazine clearly showing the officer wearing his hat throughout the proceedings. But duty solicitors failed to submit the photographs, anyway. Throughout the hearing, the judge was more keen to criticise the lifestyle and political philosophy of the defendant than to consider evidence which pointed towards ‘not guilty’. After finding the anarchist guilty, the judge won’t rule out prison. Even if prison is averted, he’ll still be left with £600 to pay in fees, not including any fines. If you’d like to show (financial) support, drop us an email, and we’ll let you know what you can do to help stick two fingers up at a legal system that has always defended the interests of the powerful, judicial process be damned.
